Jill Scott Sued Over Hallmark Card Business Deal

Jill Scottis facing a lawsuit. Mister Mann Frisby, an author and former writer for the Inquirer and Daily News, accuses the 45-year-old singer of stealing an idea that he pitched to her about using her lyrics for greeting cards. He filed a lawsuit this month in Pennsylvania.

Frisby alleges that 10 years ago, he pitched the Hallmark card concept to Scott. Scott allegedly agreed that it was a great idea and the pair promised to split the gross revenues “50-50” with Frisby if he could nail down a deal. He said that he agreed to prepare the marketing and also choose appropriate lyrics.

He says that Scott’s career began to take off and she put her deal with Frisby ‘on hold’ while she continued to focus on acting.

However, in January 2017, Scott announced she was launching her own Hallmark Mahogany greeting-card line that would feature lyrics from her songs. According to a report about the deal, Hallmark had approached her about partnering with the company five years prior, she explained,

But it wasn’t until last year both parties met and she displayed her idea.

Mister Mann Frisby

According to Frisby’s lawsuit, eight months after Scott’s launch, he discovered that she “had concealed her actions” and had proceeded without him. Frisby says Scott breached her oral agreement with him by “falsely stating” she was putting the deal on hold, circumventing him, and securing the Hallmark deal without telling him. He is demanding 50 percent of Scott’s greeting-card profits and more than $50,000 in damages.